Air-brake.



J. B. GARDNER.

l AIB. BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.29, 1911.

" Patented May 7, 1912.

per:

JESSE B. GARDNER, OF CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.

AIR-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led August 29, 1911.

Patented May 7, 1912.

Serial No. 646,598.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, .Inssn B. GARDNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air- Brakes, of which the following is a speci fication.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in air brake systems of the type in which a reduction in the train line pressure operates a triple valve and causes the pressure in the auxiliary cylinder to enter the brake cylinder and apply the brakes. In this type of air brake systems the auxiliary reservoir is not rei-charged until the brakes have been released by increasing the pressure in the train line, and this re-charging consumes considerable time. This results, when a train is equipped with the ordinary brake system and is ruiming down a very long steep grade with a heavy load, in such a reduction of pressure in the auxiliary reservoirs, duel to successive applications of the brakes andwleakage, that the brakes can no longer be set. Under the present practice it is necessary to entirely release the brakes in order to re-charge the auxiliary reservoirs, and the train is liable during this time to attain such momentum that control thereof is lost and the train is permitted to run away.

By my invention the auxiliary reservoir may be recharged without the brakes being released, and consequently the train can never get out from under the control of the engineer, and the auxiliary reservoirs may always be kept charged.

A further object of my invention is to produce a device of this character which may be attached to the ordinary air brake systems now in use, wit-hout altering the parts of said systems or the mechanism thereof.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of part-s, the preferred form of which will be iirst described in connection with the accompany ing drawings and then the invention particularly pointed out in the appended' claims.

Referring to the drawings wherein the same part is designated by the same reference numeral wherever it occurs, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in section, illust-rating the manner of applying my invention to a Westinghouse system; Fig. 2

is a central longitudinal section of the retainer and F ig. 3 is a central longitudinal section of the reducing valve which controls the operation of the retainer.

4: designates a t-rain pipe; 5 the auxiliary reservoir; 6 the brake cylinder, 7 the triple valve and 8 the pipe connecting the triple valve to the train line 4. These parts are illustrated as of the standard Testinghouse type of air brake mechanism. I have shown my invention in connection with the Westinghouse type for the purpose of illustration only, and it is to be understood that my said invention is equally applicable to any other known or desired system.

9 designates a pipe extending from the pipe 8 to the auxiliary reservoir 5, said pipe 9 being provided with a check valve 10 of any ordinary or desired construction which will permit air to flow from the train line into the auxiliary reservoir, butwillprevent the flow of air from the auxiliary reservoir to the train line. Preferably, and as shown, the pipe 9, where it enters the auxiliary reservoir, has a reduced opening formed by a plug 11, inserted in the end of the pipe, which plug has a very small conical opening 12, so that the air passes more slowly into the auxiliary reservoir than it does through the pipe 8, and consequently pressure can be built up in the triple valve to release the brake more rapidly than it is built up in the auxiliary reservoir. In the Westinghouse triple valve two exhaust ports are provided in the casing through which the air passes when the brakes are released. One of these ports I plug up with a suit-able plug and into the other I thread oneend ofa pipe 13, preferably L shaped as shown, and to the other end of which I thread the lower end of a retainer v14:. This retainer 14, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a shell 15, provided with a bore 16, reduced at its lower end, as shown at 17, to form a seat 18. Below the reduced portion 17 the bore is preferably enlarged as shown at 19, and into the port-ion 19 the pipe 13 is threaded.

` 2O is the exhaust port extending from the bore 16, preferably located just above the seat 18.

Above the bore 16 the casing is provided with an enlarged bore 21, which forms a cylinder in which is mounted a piston 22 preferably provided with piston rings 23, said piston having a stem 24 extending from one face thereof, said stem being adapted to fit the bore 16, and having its lower end rounded off, as shown at 25, to fit the seat 18. Preferably the stem 24 is provided with the packing rings 26, as shown, and the lower end of the stem is preferably provided with a projecting teat 27. Projecting from the face of the piston opposite from the stem 24 is a lug 2S, with which one end of a spiral spring 29 engages, the other end of the spring engaging a shouldered projection 30 on a screw 31 threaded through the cap 32, which in turn is threaded into the open end of the cylinder 2l. Preferably the upper end of the screw 31 is provided with a milled head 32, in order that` the screw may be readily turned to adjust the tension of the spring 29, and 33 is a lock nut, which I preferably provide, in order to lock the screw 31 in its adjusted position.

Tapped into the side of the cylinder 21, below the lowest positiony of the piston 22, is a pipe 34 connected to one side of a reducing valve 35, the other side of the reducing valve being connected by a pipe 36 to the pipe 9. One form of reducing valve which I have found by experience will effeet the successful operation of my invention is shown in detail in Fig. 3, wherein the valve chamber 35 is divided by a diaphragm 37, in which is formed a valve seat 38. 39 is the valve formed with a conical .end portion 40, adapted to enter into the seat 38 and seat thereon said valve being cut away just above the conical portion, as shown at 41, and provided above the cut away portion 41 with a portion 42 adapted to fit the upper portion 43 of the valve chamber. The valve 39 is provided with a stem 44, which passes through the bore of a plug 45, threaded into the end of a sleeve 46, threaded onto the upper end 43 of the valve chamber. 47 is a spring surrounding the stem 44 and interposed between the lower end of the plug 45 and the top of the portion 42 of the valve. From this construction it will be seen that by turning the plug 45 the tension of the spring 47 holding the valve to its seat can be adjusted, and consequently the pressure passing from the pipe 36 to the pipe 34 can be reduced any desired amount.

In the operation of my device it will be supposed that the ordinary train line pressure of seventy pounds is used, in which case the plug 45 is set so as to give such tension on the spring 47 as to require a pressure of fifty-five pounds in the train line to raise the valve 39 from its seat and consequently but fifteen pounds can possibly enter below the piston 22 of the retainer 14. The screw 31 is then set so as to require a pressure of about ten pounds below the piston 22 to raise the piston and consequently raise the stem 24 from the seat 1S and permit air to pass from the triple valve through the exhaust port 18 and raise the brakes.

IIn describing the operation of my device we will suppose that the auxiliary reservoir is fully charged to a` pressure of seventy pounds, and that there is in the train pipe the normal pressure, of seventy pounds. The reducing valve 35 has consequently permitted fifteen pounds pressure to pass into the pipe 34 and below the piston 22, holding the same raised and consequently the exhaust of the triple valve is open. The engineerto apply the brakes operates his brake valve in the ordinary manner, and it will be supposed that he makes a service application. The reduction of train pipe pressure causes the triple valve to operate and apply the brakes in the ordinary manner. If, for instance, when the full service application is made the engineer makes a twenty pounds reduction in his train line, the lifteen pounds pressure in the pipe 34 and bclow the piston 22 will leak out around the stem 44, consequently reducing the pressure beneath the piston 22 to ordinary atmospheric pressure. This leak around the piston 43 is so slight however as not to interfere with the ordinary operation of the brake. Consequently the stem 24 will seat itself on the seat 18 and close the exhaust from the triple valve, and the retainer will hold the brakes on until suiiicient air pressure has been introduced beneath the piston 22 to move t-he stem 24 from its seat and open the passage way from the triple valve to the exhaustport 20. Further reductions in the train line pressure to produce further applications of the brakes without releasing them, together with the waste of air, due t-o leakage, will cause the pressure in the auxiliary cylinder to further reduce until it gets to a point where no further applications can be made. If the engineer desires to re-charge his auxiliary cylinder without releasing his brakes, he throws the lever of his brake valve to release position. Immediately the pressure in the train pipe line begins to rise the air passes through the recharging pipe 9 into the auxiliary reservoir without however releasing the brakes, due to the fact that until the pressure has reached fifty-five pounds lno air passes through the pipe 34 to open the exhaust from the triple valve. Just before the train line pressure reaches fifty-five pounds, as shown by the .gage in the cab, t-he engineer can return his brake valve to lap position, so that fifty-five pounds can be introduced into the auxiliary reservoir without releasing the brakes. If the engineer desires to further increase the pressure in his auxiliary reservoir he can do so by quickly moving his brake valve from lap position to release and immediately back to lap. This will permit a few pounds ot' air to enter the auxiliary reservoir but not enough increase in pressure is produced in the train line to release the brake. This can be repeated until over sixty pounds is obtained in the auxiliary reservoir. IVhen it is desired to release the brakes the engineer' throws his valve to full release position, whereupon the pressure passing the retaining valve will move up the'piston 22, opening the exhaust from the triple valve, and because of the reduced opening in the pipe 9 to the auxiliary reservoir the pressure in front of the triple valve will increase faster than the pressure behind the triple valve or in the auxiliary reservoir, and consequently the triple valve will operate in the ordinary manner to release the brakes.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I thereifore do not intend to limit myself to the specific form shown and described.'

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A means for re-cliarging auxiliary reservoirs of air brake systems without releasing the brakes, comprising a connection between the train line and the auxiliary reservoir, said connection having means to permit the flow of air from the train line to the reservoir but preventing the flow from the reservoir to the train line, a retaining valve connected to the exhaust of the triple valve, a pipe connecting the retaining valve to the train line and a reducing valve interposed in said pipe between the retainer and the train line.

2. In an air brake system, a pipe connecting the train line and the auxiliary reservoir, a check valve in said pipe to permit the 'flow of air from the train line to the reservoir but preventing the flow from the reservoir to the train line, a retaining valve for controlling the exhaust from the triple valve, a piston in said retaining valve adapted to open and close the exhaust, a pipe connecting the retaining valve to the train line whereby air pressure entering the retaining valve from the train line may open the retaining valve, and a reducing valve interposed in said last mentioned pipe between the retaining valve and the train line.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JESSE B. GARDNER.

Titnesses R. C. STEPHENS, I3. WV. BRICKMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1). C. 

